Handel

Important challenges

Handel managed something which nobody had ever managed before: to make England love opera. He arrived in London in 1712 – contracted by King George I – and wanted to conquer the British capital.

That's why most of this programme takes place in London. We’ll take a trip along the Thames – a backdrop to Handel’s first pieces, we’ll visit Lingfield Park Racecourse – one of the meeting points of England’s “high society”, we’ll go and see a match at The Valley football pitch – a metaphor in English society for taking political and cultural sides, and we’ll visit the West End to see how big musicals still continue to draw huge audiences to this day.We’ll talk to countertenor Philippe Jaroussky who will introduce us to the fascinating world of the castrati, and we’ll analyse both the personality and work of Handel with the help of theatre producer Nica Burns.

This is a programme about a very competitive man who achieved everything he aimed for and converted opera into something which could be enjoyed by everyone in London.